Display device and driving method for display device using the same

ABSTRACT

A display device including a display unit including sensing input signal lines, sensing output signal lines, and touch sensors disposed on the sensing input signal lines and the sensing output signal lines, a sensor unit including gripping sensors corresponding to the sensing input signal lines, the sensor unit configured to generate a gripping signal including touch information of a first gripping sensor and position information of a first sensing input signal line corresponding to the first gripping sensor, and a signal controller configured to control a sensing scan control signal such that a first sensing input signal including a higher voltage than a reference voltage is applied to the first sensing input signal line according to gripping signal, and a sensing scan driver configured to generate a sensing input signal that is applied to the sensing input signal lines according to the sensing scan control signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2014-0172260, filed on Dec. 3, 2014, which is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

Field

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a displaydevice and a driving method of the display device. More particularly,exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a technique fordetecting a gripping position in a mobile device and driving a touchvoltage.

Discussion of the Background

A touch screen may be formed by coupling a touch panel to a displaydevice to display images and facilitate convenient input of usercommands without using a keyboard or a mouse. The touch screen has beenwidely used for various electronic devices, such as mobile devices,navigation devices, TVs, ATMs, and point of sale (POS) devices. Asmobile devices provide more services and functions, many recent mobiledevices have graphic user mobile interfaces using a touch screen.

Since the touch screen may be formed by mounting a display device and atouch pad as a single unit, unlike a conventional mobile device, anadditional space for mounting a keypad may not be required. As a result,a display device with a larger screen may be mounted on a mobile device.The touch screen may be classified into various types according to adriving method, such as a capacitive overlay type, an infrared beamtype, a surface acoustic wave type, a piezoelectric type, an integralstain gauge type, and a resistive type. Among these types of touchscreens, the resistive type touch screen has been widely used due to itshigh transmittance, high reaction rate, and strong tolerance, which mayrender the mobile device less affected by operational environments.

In conventional mobile devices with a large touch screen, the touchscreen may be driven by using the same voltage, regardless of the sizeof the touch screen, which increases power consumption. In addition,when a display panel driving chip and a touch panel driving chip aredriven simultaneously, noise may be mutually induced in the two drivingchips to generate noise in the touch panel driving chip by the drivingof the display panel, or in the display panel driving chip by thedriving of the touch panel.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the inventive concept,and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form the priorart that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skillin the art.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a device displayincluding a large touch screen with ultrahigh resolution that may reducepower loss.

Further, the exemplary embodiments of the present invention may improvetouch accuracy and reduce touch error by minimizing noise effects causedby a parasitic capacitance.

Additional aspects of the inventive concept will be set forth in thedetailed description which follows, and, in part, will be apparent fromthe disclosure, or may be learned by practice of the inventive concept.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a displaydevice includes a display unit including sensing input signal lines,sensing output signal lines, and touch sensors disposed on the sensinginput signal lines and the sensing output signal lines, a sensor unitincluding gripping sensors corresponding to the sensing input signallines, the sensor unit configured to generate a gripping signalincluding touch information of a first gripping sensor and positioninformation of a first sensing input signal line corresponding to thefirst gripping sensor, a signal controller configured to control asensing scan control signal such that a first sensing input signalincluding a higher voltage than a reference voltage is applied to thefirst sensing input signal line corresponding to the first grippingsensor according to the gripping signal, and a sensing scan driverconfigured to generate a sensing input signal that is applied to thesensing input signal lines according to the sensing scan control signal.

The signal controller may be configured to control the sensing scancontrol signal such that the first sensing input signal including ahigher voltage than the reference voltage is applied to a second sensinginput signal line disposed adjacent to the first sensing input signalline corresponding to the first gripping sensor, and a second sensinginput signal including a lower voltage than the reference voltage isapplied to sensing input signal lines other than the second sensinginput signal line.

The display device may further include a second gripping sensor, inwhich the gripping signal may include first position information of thefirst sensing input signal line corresponding to the first grippingsensor and second position information of a second sensing input signalline corresponding to the second gripping sensor, and the signalcontroller may be configured to control the sensing scan control signalsuch that the first sensing input signal is applied to the first andsecond sensing input signal lines.

The display device may further include a third gripping sensor disposedbetween the first and second gripping sensors, the third gripping sensorcorresponding to a third sensing input signal line, in which the signalcontroller may be configured to control the sensing scan control signalsuch that the first sensing input signal is applied to the first,second, and third sensing input signal lines, and touch information ofthe third gripping sensor may be different from touch information of thefirst and second gripping sensors.

The display device may further include a sensing signal processorconfigured to generate a sensing signal including touch information of atouch sensor based on a sensing output signal generated in response to atouch of the touch sensor, in which the signal controller may beconfigured to generate first statistics based on the gripping signal andan accumulated sensing signal of a first user, and second statisticsbased on the gripping signal and an accumulated sensing signal of asecond user.

The display device may further include of a fourth touch sensorcorresponding to a fourth gripping sensor that is not disposed adjacentto the first or the second gripping sensors, in which the sensing signalmay include the touch information of each of the first, second, third,and fourth touch sensors respectively corresponding to the first,second, third, and fourth gripping sensors, the first and secondstatistics may include a first number of touch times accumulated for thefirst touch sensor, a second number of touch times accumulated for thesecond touch sensor, a third number of touch times accumulated for thethird touch sensor, and a fourth number of touch times accumulated forthe fourth touch sensor, and the signal controller may be configured tocontrol the sensing scan control signal such that the first sensinginput signal is applied to the sensing input signal line that has anumber of touch times accumulated for the corresponding touch sensorequal to or greater than a reference touch number, among the first tofourth numbers of touch times.

The signal controller may be configured to control the sensing scancontrol signal such that the second sensing input signal is applied tothe sensing input signal line that has a number of touch timesaccumulated for the corresponding touch sensor smaller than thereference touch number, among the first to fourth numbers of touchtimes.

The signal controller may be configured to control the sensing scanningsignal such that a third sensing input signal that has the same voltageas the reference voltage is applied to all of the sensing input signallines when the touch information of the gripping signal does notindicate that the gripping sensors are touched.

The controller may be configured to control the sensing scan controlsignal such that the sensing scan control signal is adjusted accordingto Gaussian distribution that has the first sensing input signal as amaximum value.

The controller may be configured to control the sensing scan controlsignal such that the sensing scan control signal is adjusted accordingto inverse Gaussian distribution that has the first sensing input signalas a minimum value.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a drivingmethod of a display device includes sensing a grip by a sensor unit inresponse to touching of a first gripping sensor, detecting a position ofa first sensing input signal line corresponding to the first touchedgripping sensor, generating a gripping signal including touchinformation of the first touched gripping sensor and positioninformation of the sensing input signal line corresponding to the firsttouched gripping sensor, controlling the sensing scan control signalsuch that a first sensing input signal including a higher voltage than areference voltage is applied to the first sensing input signal linecorresponding to the first touched gripping sensor according to thegripping signal, and generating a sensing input signal applied to thefirst sensing input signal line according to the sensing scan controlsignal, in which the display device includes a display unit includingsensing input signal lines, sensing output signal lines, and touchsensors disposed on the sensing input signal lines and the sensingoutput signal lines, a sensing scan driver, the sensor unit includinggripping sensors corresponding to the sensing input signal lines, and asignal controller configured to generate the sensing scan controlsignal.

The controlling of the sensing scan control signal may includecontrolling the sensing scan control signal such that the first sensinginput signal including a higher voltage than the reference voltage isapplied to a second sensing input signal line disposed adjacent to thefirst sensing input signal line that corresponds to the first touchedgripping sensor, and controlling the sensing scan control signal suchthat a second sensing input signal including a lower voltage than thereference voltage is applied to sensing input signal lines other thanthe second sensing input signal line.

The touched gripping sensor may include a second touched grippingsensor, and the detecting of the position of the sensing input signalline may include detecting a position of a first sensing input signalline corresponding to the first touched gripping sensor and a positionof a second sensing input signal line corresponding to the secondtouched gripping sensor, the generating of the gripping signal includesgenerating the gripping signal including position information of thefirst and second sensing input signal lines, and the controlling of thesensing scan control signal includes controlling the sensing scancontrol signal such that the first sensing input signal is applied tothe first and second sensing input signal lines.

The display device may further include a third untouched gripping sensordisposed between the first and second gripping sensors, the thirduntouched gripping sensor corresponding to a third sensing input signalline, and the signal controller may control the sensing scan controlsignal such that the first sensing input signal is applied to the first,second, and third sensing input signal lines.

The display device may further include a sensing signal processorconfigured to generate a sensing signal including touch information of atouch sensor based on a sensing output signal generated in response to atouch of the touch sensor, and the generating of the gripping signal mayinclude generating first statistics based on the gripping signal and anaccumulated sensing signal of a first user, and generating secondstatistics based on the gripping signal and an accumulated sensingsignal of a second user.

The display device may further include a fourth touch sensorcorresponding to a fourth gripping sensor that is not disposed adjacentto the first or second gripping sensors, the sensing signal may includetouch information of each of the first, second, third, and fourth touchsensors respectively corresponding to the first, second, third, andfourth gripping sensors, the first statistics and the second statisticsmay each include a first number of touch times accumulated for the firsttouch sensor, a second number of touch times accumulated for the secondtouch sensor, a third number of touch times accumulated for the thirdtouch sensor, and a fourth number touch of times accumulated for thefourth touch sensor, and the controller may control the sensing scancontrol signal such that the first sensing input signal is applied tothe sensing input signal line that has a number of touch timesaccumulated for the corresponding touch sensor equal to or greater thana reference touch number, among the first to the fourth numbers of touchtimes.

The controlling of the sensing scan control signal may includecontrolling the sensing scan control signal such that the second sensinginput signal is applied to the sensing input signal line that has anumber of touch times accumulated for the corresponding touch sensorsmaller than the reference touch number, among the first to fourth touchnumbers of touch times.

The controlling of the sensing scan control signal may includecontrolling the sensing scanning signal such that a third sensing inputsignal that has the same voltage as the reference voltage is applied toall of the sensing input signal lines when the touch information of thegripping signal does not indicate that the gripping sensors are touched.

The controlling of the sensing scan control signal may includecontrolling the sensing scan control signal such that the sensing scancontrol signal is adjusted according to Gaussian distribution that hasthe first sensing input signal as a maximum value.

The controlling of the sensing scan control signal may includecontrolling the sensing scan control signal such that the sensing scancontrol signal is adjusted according to inverse Gaussian distributionthat has the first sensing input signal as a minimum value.

According to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it maybe possible to provide a device display such as a mobile deviceincluding a large touch screen with ultrahigh resolution that may reducepower loss.

Further, it may be possible to improve touch accuracy and reduce toucherror by minimizing noise effects caused by a parasitic capacitance.

The foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the inventive concept, and are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplaryembodiments of the inventive concept, and, together with thedescription, serve to explain principles of the inventive concept.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a mobile device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate a display unit according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 illustrate a sensor unit according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 illustrate a sensing input signal according to asingle touch.

FIG. 8 illustrates a sensing input signal according to a multi-touch.

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 illustrate a custom sensing input signal according tousers.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a driving method of a display deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various exemplary embodiments. It is apparent, however,that various exemplary embodiments may be practiced without thesespecific details or with one or more equivalent arrangements. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring various exemplaryembodiments.

In the accompanying figures, the size and relative sizes of layers,films, panels, regions, etc., may be exaggerated for clarity anddescriptive purposes. Also, like reference numerals denote likeelements.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “connected to,”or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on,connected to, or coupled to the other element or layer or interveningelements or layers may be present. When, however, an element or layer isreferred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or“directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are no interveningelements or layers present. For the purposes of this disclosure, “atleast one of X, Y, and Z” and “at least one selected from the groupconsisting of X, Y, and Z” may be construed as X only, Y only, Z only,or any combination of two or more of X, Y, and Z, such as, for instance,XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Asused herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of oneor more of the associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describevarious elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, theseelements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not belimited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element,component, region, layer, and/or section from another element,component, region, layer, and/or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer, and/or section discussed below could be termeda second element, component, region, layer, and/or section withoutdeparting from the teachings of the present disclosure.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,”“upper,” and the like, may be used herein for descriptive purposes, and,thereby, to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the drawings. Spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of anapparatus in use, operation, and/or manufacture in addition to theorientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if the apparatus inthe drawings is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath”other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the otherelements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompassboth an orientation of above and below. Furthermore, the apparatus maybe otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations), and, as such, the spatially relative descriptors usedherein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms, “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Moreover,the terms “comprises,” comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” whenused in this specification, specify the presence of stated features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is a part. Terms,such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in anidealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.

Hereinafter, a display device according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG.5.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a mobile device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 illustrate the display deviceaccording to the present exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3, the display device according tothe present exemplary embodiment includes scanning lines S1-Sn, datalines D1-Dm, sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp, sensing output signallines PL1-PLk, a sensor unit 100, a signal controller 200, a displayscan driver 300D, a sensing scan driver 300T, a sensing signal processor400, a data driver 500, a display unit 600, and a user recognizer 700.

The display device 1 may improve touch sensitivity by adjusting the sizeof a sensing input signal of a touch sensor TSU that has a highpossibility of touch according to a gripping position sensed by thesensor unit 100. Further, the display device 1 may improve the touchsensitivity by adjusting the size of a sensing input signal of the touchsensor TSU that has a high number of touch times per user recognized bythe user recognizer 700.

As shown in FIG. 2, the scanning lines S1-Sn (n is a natural number) arearranged in a vertical direction and extend in a horizontal direction.The data lines D1-Dm (m is a natural number) are arranged in thehorizontal direction and extend in the vertical direction.

The display unit 600 is connected to the scanning lines S1-Sn and thedata lines D1-Dm, and includes pixels PX that are arranged substantiallyin a matrix form.

The display scan driver 300D is connected to the scanning lines S1-Sn tosequentially apply scanning signals S[1]-S[n] thereto according to ascan control signal CONT2.

The data driver 500 is connected to the data lines D1-Dm. The datadriver 500 generates data signals (e.g., data voltages) to correspond toinputted image data DATA.

The user recognizer 700 is configured to identify users of the displaydevice 1. The user recognizer 700 recognizes users by using userrecognizing information such as ID, password, fingerprint, and the like.

The signal controller 200 receives external input data InD and asynchronization signal to generate a data driving control signal CONT1,a display scan control signal CONT2, a sensor control signal CONT3, asensing scan control signal CONT4, and image data DATA. The signalcontroller 200 controls a sensing input signal according to a grippingposition based on a gripping signal HP. Further, the signal controller200 controls the sensing input signal according to the gripping signalHP and touch habit statistics.

The external input data InD contains luminance information of each pixelPX, and the luminance has a predetermined number of gray levels, forexample, 1024(=2¹⁰), 256(=2⁸), or 64(=2⁶) grays. The synchronizationsignal includes a horizontal synchronizing signal Hsync, a verticalsynchronization signal Vsync, and a main clock signal MCLK. The signalcontroller 200 divides the external input data InD by a frame unitaccording to a vertical synchronization signal Vsync. Then, the signalcontroller 200 generates image data DATA by dividing the external inputdata InD by a scan line unit according to the horizontal synchronizingsignal Hsync.

The signal controller 200 may include an operator 210 and a memory 220.

When the gripping signal HP indicates that no touch is performed at thegripping sensor, the operator 210 may generate the sensing scan controlsignal CONT4 such that a predetermined reference voltage is applied toall sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp. The operator 210 recognizes aposition of the sensing input signal line corresponding to the grippingsignal HP indicating that a touch is performed at the gripping sensor.The operator 210 may generate the sensing scan control signal CONT4 suchthat the sensing input signal (e.g., sensing input voltage)corresponding to the touched gripping sensor is amplified or reducedthan the predetermined reference voltage. The operator 210 may determinethe touch sensor TSU that has a high possibility of being touched, basedon the gripping signal HP. Further, the operator 210 may generate firstuser statistics ST based on accumulated sensing signals SS thatcorrespond to the gripping signal HP of a first user recognized by theuser recognizer 700, and generate second user statistics ST based onaccumulated sensing signals SS that correspond to the gripping signal HPof a second user recognized by the user recognizer 700. The operator 210determines that a touch possibility is high, based on the statistics ST,when a number of touch times of touch sensors TSU other than the touchsensor TSU that corresponds to the touched gripping sensor per user isequal to or greater than a predetermined reference level. The operator210 may generate the sensing scan control signal CONT4 such that asensing signal applied to the touch sensor TSU with a high touchpossibility per user is amplified or reduced.

Hereinafter, an operation in which the operator 210 controls the sensinginput voltage may indicate that the operator 210 generates the sensingscan control signal CONT4 such that the sensing input signal isamplified or reduced to correspond to the gripping position.

The memory 220 may store the sensing signals SS and the statistics STper user.

A pixel PX is a unit displaying an image, and may display one of primarycolors (spatial division) or a plurality of pixels PX may alternatelydisplay the primary colors in a given time (temporal division), suchthat a desired color may be displayed by a spatial or temporal sum ofthe primary colors.

The pixel PX may be synchronized with a corresponding scanning signal toreceive a data signal from a corresponding data line. The data signalinputted into the pixel PX is provided to the pixel PX according to thescanning signal that is supplied through the scanning line.

As shown in FIG. 3, sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp (p is a naturalnumber) are arranged in the vertical direction and extend in thehorizontal direction. A sensing output signal lines PL1-PLk (k is anatural number) are arranged in the horizontal direction and extend inthe vertical direction. The touch sensors TSU are connected to thecorresponding sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp and the correspondingsensing output signal lines PL1-PLk. The pixels PX are arranged in amatrix form.

The display unit 600 is connected to the sensing input signal linesSL1-SLp and sensing output signal lines PL1-PLk, and includes the touchsensors TSU and the pixels PX that are arranged substantially in amatrix form.

The sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp are connected to the sensing scandriver 300T and extend substantially parallel to each other. The sensinginput signal lines SL1-SLp may transfer the sensing input signalsinputted from the sensing scan driver 300T. The sensing input signalsmay have various waveforms and voltage levels.

The sensing output signal lines PL1-PLk are connected to the sensingsignal processor 400 and extend substantially parallel to each other tocross the sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp. The sensing output signalsgenerated by the touch sensor TSU according to touches of the displayunit 600 may be applied to the sensing output signal lines PL1-PLk.

The sensing scan driver 300T applies the sensing input signals (e.g.,sensing input voltages) according to gripping positions to the sensinginput signal lines SL1-SLp according to the sensing scan control signalCONT4. In this case, the sensing input signals may be sequentiallyapplied.

The sensing signal processor 400 may generate the sensing signals SSthat include touch information, such as touch existence and touchpositions based on the sensing output signals. As shown in FIG. 3, thesensing signal processor 400 may be separated from the signal controller200. Alternatively, the sensing signal processor 400 may be included inthe signal controller 200.

The touch sensor TSU may generate the sensing output signals accordingto touches, by using a capacitive method. As shown in FIG. 3, one touchsensor TSU may be disposed at a position where one sensing input signalline SL1 and one sensing output signal line PL2 cross each other. Thelength of one side of the touch sensor TSU may be about severalmillimeters, e.g., about 4 to 5 mm. The size of the touch sensor TSU maybe varied according to a touched area when an object touches the displayunit 600.

Further, the pixels PX may be disposed at a region of one touch sensorTSU. For example, several tens to hundreds of arrays of the pixels PXmay be disposed in a row or column direction of the touch sensor TSU.

The density of the pixels PX in one touch sensor TSU may vary accordingto the resolution of the display device.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sensor unit 100 may include gripping sensorsH1-Hq (q is a natural number) having an internal resistance that mayvary according to touches. The sensor unit 100 may sense a grippingposition by using a variation of the internal resistance of the touchedgripping sensor. The sensor unit 100 may generate position informationof the sensing input signal line corresponding to the touched grippingsensor and the gripping signal HP that includes a changed value of theinternal resistance of the touched gripping sensor. For convenience ofdescription, in FIG. 4, it is illustrated that each gripping sensorH1-Hq correspond to each sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp.Alternatively, one gripping sensor may correspond to a sensing inputsignal line group including two or more sensing input signal lines.

Referring to FIG. 4, the sensor unit 100 is formed at a left side of thedisplay unit 600. Alternatively the sensor unit 100 may be formed at aright side of the display unit 600, or at the left side and the rightside of the display unit 600.

As shown in FIG. 5, the touch sensor TSU includes a sensing capacitor Cmthat is formed of the sensing input signal line SL2 and the sensingoutput signal line PL1. The sensing capacitor Cm may include an overlapsensing capacitor that is formed by overlapping the sensing input signalline SL2 and the sensing output signal line PL1, or a fringe sensingcapacitor that is formed to include the sensing input signal line SL2and the sensing output signal line PL1 that are adjacent to each otherwithout overlapping each other. The touch sensor TSU may receive thesensing input signal that is transferred by the sensing input signalline SL2 to generate the sensing output signal that indicates the changeof a charge amount of the sensing capacitor Cm caused by the touch of anexternal object. Specifically, when the sensing input signal is inputtedinto the touch sensor TSU, the sensing capacitor Cm is charged with apredetermined charge amount, and a change in the charge amount thatcorresponds to the touch is outputted as the sensing output signal tothe sensing output signal line PL2. In other words, upon the touch of anexternal object, the charge amount may change in the sensing capacitorCm, and the corresponding sensing output signal is outputted to thesensing output signal line PL2. A voltage level of the sensing outputsignal generated when the external object touches the display unit 600may be smaller than a voltage level of the sensing output signalgenerated when the external object does not touch the display unit 600.

The sensing input electrodes Tx may be arranged in a matrix form. Thesensing input electrodes Tx that are arranged in a column directionconstitute one sensing input electrode column, and the sensing inputelectrodes Tx that are arranged in a row direction constitute onesensing input electrode row. The sensing input electrodes Tx disposed atone sensing input electrode column may be connected to each other. Eachof the sensing input electrodes Tx may have a quadrangular shape asshown in FIG. 5, but may have various shapes. The length of one side ofthe sensing input electrodes Tx may be about several millimeters, butthe length may vary according to touch objects and touch methods.

Sensing output electrodes Rx may extend longitudinally in the columndirection, and arranged at a predetermined interval. Each of the sensingoutput electrodes Rx is disposed between two adjacent sensing inputelectrode columns, and the sensing output electrodes Rx and the sensinginput electrodes Tx may be alternatively arranged in the row direction.

The sensing output electrode Rx and the sensing input electrode Tx thatare adjacent to each other may be disposed at a predetermined intervalto face each other. The sensing output electrode Rx and the sensinginput electrode Tx that are adjacent to each other constitute one touchsensor TSU. When an external touch is applied, the charge amount of thesensing capacitor Cm of the touch sensor TSU may change, and this changeof the charge amount may be reflected on the sensing output signal so asto generate the output sensing signal. The sensing output electrodes Rxand the sensing input electrodes Tx may be disposed on the same plane ina single plane structure, but may be disposed at different layers. Whenthe sensing output electrodes Rx and the sensing input electrodes Tx aredisposed at different layers, at least a portion of the sensing outputelectrodes Rx and the sensing input electrodes Tx may overlap eachother. The sensing output electrodes Rx and the sensing input electrodesTx may be formed of a transparent conductive material, such as indiumtin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), or the like.

The sensing input electrodes Tx disposed at a row are electricallyconnected to the sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp respectively, andthe sensing output electrodes Rx are electrically connected to thesensing output signal lines PL1-PLk respectively.

The sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp and the sensing output signallines PL1-PLk may include a conductive material, e.g., a metal such ascopper (Cu), of which the resistance is lower than those of the sensinginput electrode Tx and the sensing output electrode Rx. The sensinginput signal lines SL1-SLp and the sensing output signal lines PL1-PLkmay have a multilayer structure including two or more conductivematerials. The sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp and the sensing outputsignal lines PL1-PLk may be disposed at different layers. Hereinafter,the sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp are assumed to be disposed abovethe sensing output signal lines PL1-PLk.

The sensing output signal lines PL1-PLk may be disposed above the outputelectrode Rx. The sensing output signal lines PL1-PLk may extendlongitudinally in the column direction, and each of the sensing outputsignal lines PL1-PLk is directly connected to corresponding sensingoutput electrodes Rx. An insulating layer (not shown) is disposed abovethe sensing output signal lines PL1-PLk. The insulating layer mayinclude an organic insulating material or an inorganic insulatingmaterial. The insulating layer may have touch holes 85 for exposing thesensing input electrodes Tx.

The sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp may be disposed above theinsulating layer. The sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp may extendlongitudinally in the row direction, and may be electrically connectedto the sensing input electrodes Tx arranged in the row direction throughthe touch holes 85. Accordingly, the sensing input electrodes Txarranged at one row are connected to each other through one ofcorresponding sensing input signal lines SL1-SLp. One sensing inputelectrode Tx and a part of the sensing output electrode Rx that isadjacent thereto may constitute one touch sensor TSU.

Hereinafter, a driving method of a display device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention will described withreference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 9.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 illustrate a sensing input signal according to asingle touch.

As shown in FIG. 6, the gripping sensors H1-H7 respectively correspondto the sensing input signal lines SL1-SL7.

The operator 210 controls a sensing input voltage of the sensing inputsignal line by amplifying the sensing input voltage higher than apredetermined reference voltage for the sensing input signal line thatis determined to have a high possibility of touch, and by reducing thesensing input voltage lower than the predetermined reference voltage forthe sensing input signal line that is determined to have a lowpossibility of touch. For example, a position of the sensing inputsignal line SL6 is detected based on the gripping signal HP that isgenerated when the gripping sensor H6 is touched by a finger P. Theoperator 210 then determines that the touch sensors TSU connected to thesensing input signal lines SL5 and SL7 arranged vertically adjacent tothe sensing input signal line SL6 have a high possibility of touch. Theoperator 210 controls the sensing input voltages of the sensing inputsignal lines SL5 and SL7 to be amplified as a voltage V₄. The operator210 determines the touch sensors TSU connected to the sensing inputsignal lines SL1-SL5 to have a small possibility of touch. The operator210 controls the sensing input voltages of the sensing input signallines SL1-SL5 to be reduced as a voltage V₁.

As shown in FIG. 7, as the gripping sensor H4 is touched by the fingerP, the operator 210 determines the touch sensor TSU connected to thesensing input signal line SL4 to have a high possibility of touch andcontrols the sensing input voltage of the input signal line SL4 to beamplified to the maximum voltage V₄. The operator 210 determines that,according to Gaussian distribution, a possibility of being touchedreduces as a distance from the gripping sensor H4 increases, and adjuststhe sensing input voltage according to the Gaussian distribution.Specifically, a position of the sensing output signal line SL4corresponding to the gripping sensor H4 is detected based on thegripping signal HP generated as the gripping sensor H4 is touched by thefinger P. The operator 210 controls the sensing input voltage of thesensing input signal line SL4 to voltage V₄. The operator 210 controlsthe sensing input voltages of the sensing input signal lines SL3 and SL5corresponding to the gripping sensor H3 and H5 that are verticallyadjacent to the gripping sensor H4 to be a voltage V₃. The operator 210controls the sensing input voltages of the sensing output signal lineSL2 corresponding to the gripping sensor H2 that is adjacent to thegripping sensor H3 and the sensing output signal line SL6 correspondingto the gripping sensor H6 that is adjacent to the gripping sensor H5 tovoltage V₂. The operator 210 controls the sensing input voltages of thesensing output signal line SL1 corresponding to the gripping sensor H1and the sensing output signal line SL7 corresponding to the grippingsensor H7 to voltage V₁.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, theoperator 210 may determine that, according to inverse Gaussiandistribution, a possibility of being touched increases as the distancefrom the gripping sensor H4 increases, and adjusts the sensing inputvoltage according to inverse Gaussian distribution. For example, as thegripping sensor H4 is touched by the finger P, the operator 210 maydetermine that a possibility of the touch sensor TSU connected to thesensing input signal line SL4 being touched is the lowest and controlthe sensing input voltage of the input signal line SL4 to be the minimumvoltage V₁.

FIG. 8 illustrates a sensing input signal according to a multi-touch.

As shown in FIG. 8, the operator 210 controls the sensing input voltageof the sensing input signal line by amplifying the sensing input voltagehigher than a predetermined reference voltage for the sensing inputsignal line that is determined to have a high possibility of touch basedon the gripping signal HP generated by multi-touch, and by reducing thesensing input voltage lower than the predetermined reference voltage forthe sensing input signal line that is determined to have a lowpossibility of touch. For example, positions of the sensing input signallines SL4 and SL6 corresponding to the gripping sensors H4 and H6 aredetected based on the gripping signals HP generated as the grippingsensors H4 and H6 are touched by fingers P1 and P2. The operator 210determines the touch sensors TSU connected to the sensing input signallines SL4 and SL6 and the sensing input signal line SL5 disposed betweenthe sensing input signal lines SL4 and SL6 to have a high touchpossibility. The operator 210 controls the sensing input voltages of thesensing output signal lines SL4, SL5, and SL6 to be amplified to voltageV₄. The operator 210 determines the touch sensors TSU connected to thesensing input signal lines SL1, SL2, SL3, and SL7 to have a low touchpossibility. The operator 210 controls the sensing input voltages of thesensing input signal lines SL1, SL2, SL3, and SL7 to be reduced tovoltage V₁.

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 illustrate a custom sensing input signal according tousers.

The operator 210 may control the sensing input signals by determiningthe sensing input signal lines that are amplified per user, based on therecognized user statistics ST in addition to the sensing input signallines corresponding to the touched gripping sensors.

Hereinafter, a method for controlling a custom sensing input signal peruser will be described with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. 9, the operator 210 recognizes positions of the sensinginput signal lines SL4 and SL6 corresponding to the gripping sensors H4and H6 based on the gripping signals HP generated as the grippingsensors H4 and H6 are touched by the fingers P1 and P2. The operator 210determines the touch sensors TSU connected to the sensing input signallines SL3 and SL4 to have a high touch possibility based on first userstatistics ST.

Specifically, when the gripping sensors H4 and H6 are touched by thefingers P1 and P2 of the first user, the first user statistics STindicate whether the number of times at which the touch sensors TSUconnected to the sensing input signal lines SL3, SL4, and SL5 aretouched by the first user is greater than a predetermined referencevalue, and the number of times at which the touch sensor TSU connectedto the sensing output signal line SL6 are touched by the first user issmaller than the predetermined reference value. Accordingly, theoperator 210 determines the touch sensors TSU connected to the sensinginput signal lines SL3, SL4, and SL5 to have a high touch possibilitywhen the first user touches the gripping sensors H4 and H6. The operator210 controls the sensing input voltages of the sensing input signallines SL3, SL4, and SL5 to be amplified to voltage V₄. The operator 210determines the touch sensors TSU connected to the sensing input signallines SL1, SL2, SL6, and SL7 to have a low touch possibility. Theoperator 210 controls the sensing input voltages of the sensing inputsignal lines SL1, SL2, SL6, and SL7 to be reduced to voltage V₁.

As shown in FIG. 10, the operator 210 detects positions of the sensinginput signal lines SL4 and SL6 corresponding to the gripping sensors H4and H6 based on the gripping signals HP generated as the grippingsensors H4 and H6 are touched by the fingers P1 and P2 of a second user.The operator 210 determines the touch sensors TSU connected to thesensing input signal line SL2, SL3, and SL4 to have a high touchpossibility based on second user statistics ST.

Specifically, when the gripping sensors H4 and H6 are touched by thefingers P1 and P2 of the second user, the second user statistics STindicate whether the number of times at which the touch sensors TSUconnected to the sensing input signal lines SL2 to SL4 are touched bythe second user is greater than the number of times at which the touchsensors TSU connected to the sensing output signal lines SL4 to SL6 aretouched. Accordingly, the operator 210 determines the touch sensors TSUconnected to the sensing input signal lines SL2 to SL4 to have a hightouch possibility when the second user touches the gripping sensors H4and H6. The operator 210 controls the sensing input voltages of thesensing input signal lines SL2 to SL4 to be amplified to voltage V₄. Theoperator 210 determines the touch sensors TSU connected to the sensinginput signal lines SL1 and SL5 to SL7 to have a low touch possibility.The operator 210 controls the sensing input voltages of the sensinginput signal lines SL1 and SL5 to SL7 to be reduced to voltage V₁.

Accordingly, the operator 210 may control custom sensing input voltagesof the first user and the second user based on the statistics ST of eachof the first and second users in response to the gripping signals HP.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a driving method of a display deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment the present invention.

In step S10, the signal controller 200 determines whether a grip issensed by using the gripping signal HP.

In step S11, when a grip is not sensed, the signal controller 200controls the sensing input signal to a predetermined reference voltage,and applies the predetermined reference voltage to all sensing inputsignal lines SL1-SLp.

In step S20, when a grip is sensed, the signal controller 200 detects afirst position of the sensing input signal line corresponding to thetouched gripping sensor.

In step S30, the signal controller 200 determines a touch sensor TSU tohave a high touch possibility based on the gripping signal HP. In thiscase, the signal controller 200 may determine the touch sensor TSU tohave the high touch possibility per user based on the statistics ST.

In step S40, the signal controller 200 controls the sensing inputvoltage by amplifying the sensing input voltage higher than thepredetermined reference voltage for the sensing input signal line thatis determined to have the high touch possibility, and by reducing thesensing input voltage lower than the predetermined reference voltage forthe sensing input signal line that is determined to have a low touchpossibility.

In step S50, the signal controller 200 detects a second position of thesensing input signal line corresponding to the touched gripping sensorbased on the gripping signal HP, and returns to the step S20 to detect aposition of a new sensing input signal line, if this second position isdifferent from the first position recognized in step S20.

Although certain exemplary embodiments and implementations have beendescribed herein, other embodiments and modifications will be apparentfrom this description. Accordingly, the inventive concept is not limitedto such exemplary embodiments, but rather to the broader scope of thepresented claims and various obvious modifications and equivalentarrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device, comprising: a display unitcomprising sensing input signal lines, sensing output signal lines, andtouch sensors formed of the sensing input signal lines and the sensingoutput signal lines; a sensor unit comprising gripping sensorscorresponding to the sensing input signal lines, the sensor unitconfigured to generate a gripping signal comprising touch information ofa first gripping sensor and position information of a first sensinginput signal line corresponding to the first gripping sensor; a signalcontroller configured to control a sensing scan control signal such thata first sensing input signal having a higher voltage than apredetermined reference voltage is applied to the first sensing inputsignal line corresponding to the first touched gripping sensor, whileapplying a second sensing input signal different from the first sensinginput signal to a sensing input signal line that does not correspond tothe first touched gripping sensor, according to the position informationof the sensing input signal line corresponding to the first touchedgripping sensor; and a sensing scan driver configured to generate asensing input signal that is applied to the sensing input signal linesaccording to the sensing scan control signal.
 2. The display device ofclaim 1, wherein the signal controller is configured to control thesensing scan control signal such that: the first sensing input signalhaving a higher voltage than the reference voltage is applied to asecond sensing input signal line disposed adjacent to the first sensinginput signal line corresponding to the first gripping sensor; and thesecond sensing input signal having a lower voltage than the referencevoltage is applied to sensing input signal lines other than the secondsensing input signal line.
 3. The display device of claim 1, furthercomprising a second gripping sensor, wherein: the gripping signalcomprises first position information of the first sensing input signalline corresponding to the first gripping sensor and second positioninformation of a second sensing input signal line corresponding to thesecond gripping sensor; and the signal controller is configured tocontrol the sensing scan control signal such that the first sensinginput signal is applied to the first and second sensing input signallines.
 4. The display device of claim 3, further comprising a thirdgripping sensor disposed between the first and second gripping sensors,the third gripping sensor corresponding to a third sensing input signalline, wherein: the signal controller is configured to control thesensing scan control signal such that the first sensing input signal isapplied to the first, second, and third sensing input signal lines; andtouch information of the third gripping sensor is different from touchinformation of the first and second gripping sensors.
 5. The displaydevice of claim 4, further comprising: a sensing signal processorconfigured to generate a sensing signal comprising touch information ofa touch sensor based on a sensing output signal generated in response toa touch of the touch sensor; and a user recognizer configured toidentify a user, wherein the signal controller is configured to generatefirst statistics based on the gripping signal and an accumulated sensingsignal of a first user, and second statistics based on the grippingsignal and an accumulated sensing signal of a second user.
 6. Thedisplay device of claim 5, further comprising a fourth touch sensorcorresponding to a fourth gripping sensor that is not disposed adjacentto the first or second gripping sensors, wherein: the sensing signalcomprises the touch information of each of the first, second, third, andfourth touch sensors respectively corresponding to the first, second,third, and fourth gripping sensors; the first and second user statisticseach include a first number of touch times the first touch sensor isaccumulatively touched, a second number of touch times the second touchsensor is accumulatively touched, a third number of touch times thethird touch sensor is accumulatively touched, and a fourth number oftouch times the fourth touch sensor is accumulatively touched; and thesignal controller is configured to control the sensing scan controlsignal such that the first sensing input signal is applied to thesensing input signal line that has a number of touch times thecorresponding touch sensor is accumulatively touched is equal to orgreater than a reference touch number, among the first to fourth numbersof touch times.
 7. The display device of claim 6, wherein the signalcontroller is configured to control the sensing scan control signal suchthat the second sensing input signal is applied to the sensing inputsignal line that has a number of touch times the corresponding touchsensor is accumulatively touched is smaller than the reference touchnumber, among the first to fourth numbers of touch times.
 8. The displaydevice of claim 1, wherein the signal controller is configured tocontrol the sensing scanning signal such that a third sensing inputsignal that has the same voltage as the reference voltage is applied toall sensing input signal lines when the touch information of thegripping signal does not indicate that the gripping sensors are touched.9. The display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configuredto control the sensing scan control signal such that the sensing scancontrol signal is adjusted according to Gaussian distribution that hasthe first sensing input signal as a maximum value.
 10. The displaydevice of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control thesensing scan control signal such that the sensing scan control signal isadjusted according to inverse Gaussian distribution that has the firstsensing input signal as a minimum value.
 11. A driving method of adisplay device, the driving method comprising: sensing a grip by asensor unit in response to touching of a first gripping sensor;detecting a position of a first sensing input signal line correspondingto the first touched gripping sensor; generating a gripping signalcomprising touch information of the first touched gripping sensor andposition information of the first sensing input signal linecorresponding to the first touched gripping sensor; controlling asensing scan control signal such that a first sensing input signalhaving a higher voltage than a predetermined reference voltage isapplied to the first sensing input signal line corresponding to thefirst touched gripping sensor, while applying a second sensing inputsignal different from the first sensing input signal to a sensing inputsignal line that does not correspond to the first touched grippingsensor, according to the position information of the sensing inputsignal line corresponding to the first touched gripping sensor; andgenerating a sensing input signal applied to the first sensing inputsignal line according to the sensing scan control signal, wherein thedisplay device comprises: a display unit comprising sensing input signallines, sensing output signal lines, and touch sensors formed of thesensing input signal lines and the sensing output signal lines; asensing scan driver; the sensor unit comprising gripping sensorscorresponding to the sensing input signal lines; and a signal controllerconfigured to generate the sensing scan control signal.
 12. The drivingmethod of claim 11, wherein the controlling of the sensing scan controlsignal comprises: controlling the sensing scan control signal such thatthe first sensing input signal having a higher voltage than thereference voltage is applied to a second sensing input signal linedisposed adjacent to the first sensing input signal line thatcorresponds to the first touched gripping sensor; and controlling thesensing scan control signal such that the second sensing input signalhaving a lower voltage than the reference voltage is applied to sensinginput signal lines other than the second sensing input signal line. 13.The driving method of claim 11, wherein: the display device furthercomprises a second touched gripping sensor; the detecting of theposition of the sensing input signal line comprises detecting a positionof the first sensing input signal line corresponding to the firsttouched gripping sensor and a position of a second sensing input signalline corresponding to the second touched gripping sensor; the generatingof the gripping signal comprises generating the gripping signalcomprising position information of the first and second sensing inputsignal lines; and the controlling of the sensing scan control signalcomprises controlling the sensing scan control signal such that thefirst sensing input signal is applied to the first and second sensinginput signal lines.
 14. The driving method of claim 13, wherein: thedisplay device further comprises a third untouched gripping sensordisposed between the first second touched gripping sensors, the thirduntouched gripping sensor corresponding to a third sensing input signalline; and the signal controller controls the sensing scan control signalsuch that the first sensing input signal is applied to the first,second, and third sensing input signal lines.
 15. The driving method ofclaim 14, wherein: the display device further comprises: a sensingsignal processor configured to generate a sensing signal comprisingtouch information of a touch sensor based on a sensing output signalgenerated in response to a touch of the touch sensor; and a userrecognizer configured to identify a user; and the generating of thegripping signal comprises generating first statistics based on thegripping signal and an accumulated sensing signal of a first user andgenerating second statistics based on the gripping signal and anaccumulated sensing signal of a second user.
 16. The driving method ofclaim 15, wherein: the display device further comprises a fourth touchsensor corresponding to a fourth gripping sensor that is not disposedadjacent to the first or second touched gripping sensors; the sensingsignal comprises touch information of each of the first, second, third,and fourth touch sensors respectively corresponding to the first,second, third, and fourth gripping sensors; the first statistics and thesecond user statistics each comprises a first number of touch times thefirst touch sensor is accumulatively touched, a second number of touchtimes the second touch sensor is accumulatively touched, a third numberof touch times the third touch sensor is accumulatively touched, and afourth number of touch times the fourth touch sensor is accumulativelytouched; and the controller controls the sensing scan control signalsuch that the first sensing input signal is applied to the sensing inputsignal line that has a number of touch times the corresponding touchsensor is accumulatively touched is equal to or greater than a referencetouch number, among the first to fourth numbers of touch times.
 17. Thedriving method of claim 16, wherein the controlling of the sensing scancontrol signal comprises controlling the sensing scan control signalsuch that the second sensing input signal is applied to the sensinginput signal line that has a number of touch times the correspondingtouch sensor is accumulatively touched is smaller than the referencetouch number, among the first to fourth numbers of touch times.
 18. Thedriving method of claim 11, wherein the controlling of the sensing scancontrol signal comprises controlling the sensing scanning signal suchthat a third sensing input signal that has the same voltage as thereference voltage is applied to all of the sensing input signal lineswhen the touch information of the gripping signal does not indicate thatthe gripping sensors are touched.
 19. The driving method of claim 11,wherein the controlling of the sensing scan control signal comprisescontrolling the sensing scan control signal such that the sensing scancontrol signal is adjusted according to Gaussian distribution that hasthe first sensing input signal as a maximum value.
 20. The drivingmethod of claim 11, wherein the controlling of the sensing scan controlsignal comprises controlling the sensing scan control signal such thatthe sensing scan control signal is adjusted according to inverseGaussian distribution that has the first sensing input signal as aminimum value.